Red Bull Campus Cricket National Finals India 2022: Ranchi defeat Mumbai Women to clinch championship title

The grand finale of the second edition of the women’s tournament of the 11^th Red Bull Campus Cricket (RBCC) National Finals India 2022 witnessed two powerful teams- Mumbai and Ranchi locking horns with each other. The two teams cleared the semi-finals on June 10 and were all set to play the finals on June 11. Mumbai’s Rizvi College Women and Ranchi’s Marwari College Women looked strong as they eyed the glorious championship cup.

The game started off with Ranchi winning the toss and electing to bat first. It was a big opportunity for defending champions Mumbai as they eyed their second straight championship. Ranchi started off on a high note, as openers Priyanka Sawaiyan and Anamika Kumari held their heads high in the game and played a composed knock.

The duo shared a 36-run partnership by the end of the powerplay and brought up a 50-run partnership in the 9th over. They struggled to hit boundaries, and could not find the gap regularly, but covered it up by running between the wickets brilliantly. After a powerful show in the semifinals against Chennai, Mumbai struggle to take the openers down. The duo studied the field very well and placed their shots to perfection.

Sawaiyan and Kumari put up a brilliant 107-runs partnership before the former was scalped by Mansi Patil late in the 16^th over as Mumbai got the first breakthrough. The first wicket was a big blow for Ranchi, as it broke their momentum in the game. Kumari’s wicket put a pause on Ranchi’s scoring but her 54-ball 60 was the highlight of the first innings. Patil struck late but was brilliant in the death overs as she finished her four-over spell picking three wickets and conceding 19 runs.

Mumbai’s chase started off on a low note, as the openers held their places in the game, but could not hit many runs. While skipper Riya Chaudhari struggled, Mansi Patil managed to build the innings and found the gaps to send the ball towards the boundary in order to keep the asking rate in check. They stayed through the powerplay and added 28 runs for the first wicket before Chaudhari was dismissed by Monika Murmu.

Vrushali Bhagat joined Patil in the top order, but the duo could not build a partnership as Patil walked back to the pavilion soon after Chaudhari. Bhagat also could not keep her place intact as Ranchi successfully dished out the top-order batters within the first 10 overs, reducing the defending champions Mumbai to 39/3.

Sawaiyan stole the show as she beautifully restricted the Mumbai batters from scoring many runs, and took three wickets during her spell, conceding just nine runs. Ranchi carried their winning momentum in the finals and handed Mumbai a thumping defeat, thereby winning the glorious tournament by 36 runs and lifting the prestigious trophy.

Brief Scores: Ranchi defeated Mumbai by 36 runs

Ranchi: 125/5 in 20 overs (Anamika Kumari- 60(59); Mansi Patil- 3/19 in 4 overs)

Mumbai: 89/6 in 20 overs (Sadhvi Sanjay- 26(40); Priyanka Sawaiyan- 3/9 in 3 overs)

Awards:

Player of the Match- Anamika Kumari, Ranchi (60 runs in 54 balls)

Player of the Tournament- Monika Murmu, Ranchi (All-round performance)